After he caught his team, Professor Laventon showed Alec what the Pokedex was. Instead of a digital device that scanned Pokemon with a camera, it was a large leather-bound book with hundreds of pages. Each species of Pokemon had its own dedicated page. Some contained a photograph, others contained a sketch, and others merely had a paragraph describing them. The ones with photographs were the common Pokemon like Starly and Bidoof.
Laventon explained how it was his passion and current project to document all Pokemon in the region and organize them in an encyclopedia. “The people of Hisui are, for the most part, afraid of Pokemon. They hear tales and rumors of their powers that get blown right out of proportion. It’s my life’s work to fix that.
“As a part of the project, your work will be gathering as much data on these Pokemon as you can.” He turned to the book, flipping it open with a thud and leafing through the pages until he reached the entry on Shinx. The two pages were mostly empty, save for a small and blurry photo clipping and a rough sketch. Laventon turned back to Alec, and said, “It’s ridiculously slow work to gather all I need to know myself, so I hired the twins to help me out. Shinx’s entry, for example, needs information such as how it responds to Ground-type moves. I’d also like to get some data on its moves like Bite and Quick Attack.
“And that’s where you come in. You go out into the field and gather the information, and I add it to the Pokedex! You won’t be working for free, of course. I pay generously for every Pokemon you can catch and bring back to me. Firsthand study is invaluable, you know.”
He closed the tome with a resonant thump. “And once all Pokemon are researched and documented, we’ll distribute the Pokedex in the most important part of the Scientific Method: Sharing one’s findings! It’ll be invaluable for anyone who works with Pokemon.”
All Pokemon, Alec thought. The words seemed to resonate with him. It almost reminded him of…
“Arceus,” he barely whispered, unable to contain the thought. Luckily, neither Laventon nor Akari seemed to notice. This was it, his third command. This was how Arceus wanted him to seek out all Pokemon. He was sure of it.
Well, if it was a completed Pokedex Arceus wanted, it was a completed Pokedex Alec would make. There was no other way home, after all. He had to.
Alec nodded. “I’ll do it,” he said.
“Excellent!” Laventon declared. Just then, the kettle began to sing, startling the three of them. “Ah, tea’s ready. Might I offer you two a cup?”
Later on, once the tea was brewed, Alec nursed his warm cup and gently blew on it to cool it off. He had an enormous workload ahead of him. Completing the entire Pokedex? Alec could count on two hands the amount of people back home that had done that. Then again, completing the full ‘dex back home, when they had discovered thousands of different species of Pokemon, was an astronomically more difficult feat.
How many could possibly be in this region? A few hundred, maybe? That actually sounded pretty doable, Alec considered. He would have to catch multiple of the same species and do some extensive documentation, but Alec wasn’t one to shy away from a big project.
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“G’morning, Alec,” Anvin said to Alec as he entered his shop. “How many did you get this time?”
“Two bundles of fresh berries and four sacks of tumblestones,” Alec replied. Today’s harvest was a little underwhelming, but he made up for it in other ways.
Since his first day out in the field two weeks ago, he had made great progress. First and foremost, he managed to teach Tricky how to use Bite, allowing him to help out in the gathering process. This allowed Alec to crack open the ore deposits sprinkled throughout the field lands and harvest their insides: Baseball-sized smooth rocks called tumblestones. Used in the Pokeball crafting process alongside being essential in many other trades, they fetched a generous rate at the market.
Initially, Alec had felt bad about entertaining the idea of Tricky using his teeth to break apart the rocks. That sounded rather painful to think about. He soon realized that Tricky never actually bit down on anything, instead gathering Dark-type energy around his mouth that he injected into the rock from a distance. The misty and barely visible Dark energy seemed to coalesce into a pair of phantom fangs that rended through the stone.
Either way, Tricky was ecstatic to help out and Alec was ecstatic to add another item to his repertoire.
“How much will that get me?” he asked Anvin. He hadn’t yet memorized the price rates here.
“500, I’d say,” he said, crossing his arms.
Alec narrowed his eyes. “You said three bundles and three sacks were worth 700 two days ago. That doesn’t add up.”
Anvin raised his hands in surrender, grinning. “Heh, nice catch. You’ll make a great businessman one day. But once I start actually trying to pull a fast one on you, good luck catching it that easy.”
“Gotcha,” Alec said with a mock salute. He bent down and began unpacking his satchel.
Legendaries Above, this thing was expensive, but it was worth it, he thought. And Akari was right about those lessons being pricey, too.
Pulling the items out, he set them on the countertop with a thump. One bag fell over, spilling its contents in front of Anvin, who picked up a spilled oran berry and inspected it. “Clean cut on the stem, perfect ripeness, no signs of blemishes. Are the rest like this?”
“For the most part, yep,” Alec replied.
“Nice work,” he said. “You still have that knife I gave you?”
Instead of replying, Alec reached into the pocket of his sweatpants and flipped out the knife with a metallic shink, the blade glinting in the morning sun.
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During his harvesting the previous day, Alec hadn’t focused as much on gathering berries and stones, resulting in his lackluster haul back to Anvin. Instead, he had focused his energy primarily on catching new Pokemon.
Heading to Professor Laventon’s lab, he mentally went over his catches: Four Bidoof, twelve Wurmple, a Cascoon, two Starly, a Geodude, and a Gastly. Their balls, latched shut, rested comfortably in the uppermost compartment of his satchel.
Now that was an ethical debate that Alec quickly folded on. When he first discovered that Pokeballs here had physical clamps keeping them shut, he was appalled. Modern Pokeballs back home had a switch that kept them shut, but they still broke open in extreme conditions like housefires. He’d heard rumors of the newest make and model of Pokeball being able to auto-detect when a Pokemon is locked in for too long and notifying the Trainer via a companion app on their smartphone.
However, it wasn’t as convenient here. Earlier in the week, when he tried to catch his first Bidoof with a clampless ball, he quickly got the indication that it wouldn’t go quietly. Legendaries Above, his hand still had faint red teethmarks.
He’d placed the clamp back on the ball, alongside a promise that he would be released after Laventon finished his examination. Seemingly instinctually sensing his intent, this quickly placated the Bidoof. Laventon himself had assured him that pretty much every Pokemon, no matter how powerful, couldn’t resist the promise of a good meal in return for a brief physical. The wild was just fierce like that, and they had learned to take a free meal where they could get it.
He knocked on Laventon’s door, and the professor quickly opened it with a smile. “Good morning! How did your expedition go yesterday?”
“Pretty good. Got a little unlucky toward the end with my throwing aim, but otherwise great,” Alec said. “Anyways, here are the Pokemon.” He took off his satchel, set it on the table, and Laventon helped him unload the used Pokeballs.
“Four Bidoof, twelve Wurmple, a Cascoon, two Starly, a Geodude, and a Gastly,” he said with an air of pride. “The Gastly’s got a notch carved on the top so it doesn’t startle you.”
“Goodness me, Akari was right about you. You really are a wizard with Pokemon,” Laventon said, resisting the urge to rub his hands together in anticipation of the experiments before him. He scratched his chin, doing some mental math, before saying, “That’ll net you $350.”
Alec smiled as Laventon handed over his profits, sliding them into a specific pocket in his satchel. “Thanks, prof. Anything specific you need for tomorrow?”
“Not today, my boy. Good luck and stay safe.”
“Will do, professor.”
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On his way back to the gate to begin the day’s work, he passed Rei and Akari.
“Hey, Alec!” Akari said. “What’re you up to here?”
“Nothing really,” he said. “Just turned in my catch to Laventon. I’m headed to Anvin’s to stock up on more rations and then out to the fields.”
“Sounds boring,” she said flatly. Rei sagely nodded in agreement. “We’re headed to the Wallflower, wanna come?”
“What’s that?”
“Did we forget to show you?” Rei asked. “My bad. Anyways, they’ve got the best mochi in town. Wanna come with, on us?”
Alec considered for a second, then said, “Sure, thanks,” and turned to follow them.
“They’ve got food for Pokemon too, so you can give your team a treat,” Akari said, gesturing to her belt where Pikachu’s ball was held.
“Awesome,” Alec said, releasing Auster. He flew a few circles above their heads to stretch his wings before settling down on Alec’s shoulder with a chirp.
“It’s just up here, to the left,” Akari said, pointing toward a building with a canopy-covered patio with picnic tables. The whole place had a homely feel about it as if every blade of grass was carefully placed with care. Alec could hear a loud wooden thud sound coming from the inside every few seconds.
“Hey Beni!” Akari called out to the owner.
A man poked his head out from the back. He had bright green hair, though it was covered up with a cloth tied around his head. He stood with a slouch, indicative of his older age.
“Morning, Akari, Rei,” he said. “The usual, I suppose? And who is this? You know my rule about serving food to outsiders.” He crossed his arms as he sized up Alec, who shrank under his intimidating gaze.
“But Alec isn’t an outsider,” said Akari. “He joined the Corps and he’s helping with the Pokedex.”
“What’s Kamado said about him?” he asked.
“Kamado was the one who let him into the Corps,” Rei said.
Beni finally broke eye contact with Alec with a huff. He rolled his eyes at the mention of Kamado’s name. “So he’s just letting outsiders into our ranks, just like that?” he sighed. “Well, what can I do about it now? Eh, I’ll be back in ten minutes.” He ducked back into the back rooms of the restaurant.
“Huh,” Alec sighed as he sat down with Rei and Akari at one of the tables.
“Don’t worry about him,” Rei said. “He’s been worried about outsiders for as long as I’ve been alive. He’ll warm up to you, don’t worry.”
Beneath them, under the table, Tricky, Eevee, and Pikachu, having been released from their balls, played happily. The three explorers had to tune out their Pokemons’ cries as they conversed. Occasionally, one of their feet would get stepped on or a Pokemon would let out an uncharacteristically loud cry, prompting the playing to stop and resume a moment later.
“So,” Alec asked. “What kind of food do they serve here?”
“Beni’s specialty is potato mochi. It’s basically fried dough, but made with potatoes, so they’re super filling and tasty. They’re the only thing he serves here, but they’d be the only thing I’d order either way,” laughed Akari. Rei nodded in agreement beside her.
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“How’s your time as a Corpsman been going, Alec?” Akari asked, breaking the silence.
“It’s not bad,” Alec said after he finished chewing his bite of mochi. Akari had been right, it was delicious. It reminded him of a mix between a hash brown and a dinner roll, at least texture-wise. It was fried, but it didn’t feel unhealthy like most fried food does. “I haven’t had any close scrapes with Alphas, in case you were worried.”
Rei laughed. “Yep, that’s a lesson you only need to learn once. We figured you’d take it to heart. How’s your leg feel?”
“Better,” Alec said. “I barely even notice it.” He glanced down at his ankle, freshly reminded of the bandages that clung to his skin. By the end of the day, he should be able to safely take his wrappings off for the last time. He still had a faint and thin scar, but he didn’t mind. He figured it definitely wouldn’t be his last scar here.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
“Pikachu learned Spark the other day,” Akari said proudly. “I caught a Starly trying to snatch my bag and Pikachu paralyzed it and knocked it out of the sky. We’ve been training with it since.”
“That was lucky timing,” Alec said. “I’d hate to have to buy a replacement satchel.”
The twins hummed in agreement. “Speaking of moves, Alec, have you had a proper battle here? Like one against another person?” Rei said, leaning in.
“No, not yet,” Alec said. His team had only battled against other wild Pokemon. “Is this a challenge?”
“Sure, why not,” said Rei with a laugh.
Alec leaned over on his bench to look under the table. Auster, Tricky, Rei’s Eevee, and Akari’s Pikachu all sat by their trainer’s feet, eating their food. For Pokemon food, it looked surprisingly good. I guess Beni’s specialty isn’t just mochi, its whatever he’s making for the Pokemon that they love so much.
“What do you think, guys? Up for a debut battle?”
“Rowlet!” “Shinx!” they happily cried, each one turning to their food to finish it faster. The quicker they finished, the quicker the action could begin.
“That sounds like a yes,” Akari chuckled.
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Alec knelt down, facing his Pokemon. They had just finished their food and headed over to an open clearing nearby toward the outskirts of the village.
Across from him, Rei was similarly kneeling by Eevee, trying to make a pre-battle strategy.
“Rei’s only got his Eevee,” Alec strategized. “Auster, you’ve got more attacking moves, but Swift’s gonna hurt because it’ll home in on you. Tricky, you can paralyze it, but we don’t know what other moves Eevee has.”
His Pokemon voiced their agreement. While they’re both ready and raring for a good battle, they’ll respect their trainer in his calls.
Auster definitely can take Eevee’s Swift at least a handful of times, he thought. And there’s no way I’d win the battle if I couldn’t get off a paralysis with Tricky. That settled it.
“Rei, you ready?” he called out as he turned around, recalling his teammates.
“Yep!” he replied excitedly, squaring up with Alec. “Standard rules sound good?”
At Alec’s confusion, Akari began to explain. “Both sides have an even number of Pokemon, substitutions count as a faint, and no excessive violence,” she recited. “It’ll be a two-on-two.”
Rei nodded. Wait, what? He only has one Pokemon? Did he catch another? Alec thought. He must’ve caught something near the village, like Buizel or Buneary. Either way, it’s too late to switch strategies.
“Go, Auster!”
“Eevee, you’re up!”
Alec looked over and noticed Rei’s posture, notably how it differed from the trainers of his era. Unlike them, Rei stood with bent knees and unblinking eyes, as if he was in just as much danger as Eevee was during the battle. Alec tried to mimic his stance, crouching slightly and relaxing his tensed muscles.
“Swift, strong style!” Rei called, and Eevee planted its forepaws and roared. Glowing-white orbs of energy materialized around Eevee, before curving through the air and streaking toward Auster.
“You can’t dodge those!” Alec shouted toward his Rowlet. “Take the hit and charge Leafage!”
Despite their training, it still took Auster a handful of seconds to materialize the leaves required to use Leafage. With it being his first Grass move, Alec figured it would take time for Auster to get used to molding the Grass-type energy into a move.
Fluttering a few feet off the ground, Auster cawed, whirling his wings. He completely stopped moving, as he couldn’t fly and charge Leafage at the same time. He started wincing as the Swift projectiles shot toward him. They were slow-moving, so Auster could likely use the move before getting hit.
“Row!” Auster shouted, releasing Leafage once it was charged.
“Roll to the left!” ordered Rei.
The barrage of leaves whizzed toward Eevee. Unlike Swift, they couldn’t home in on their target, so dodging was a legitimate strategy. However, Auster had launched enough leaves in a wide enough cone that Eevee still was sliced by a small handful. Not as many as if he hadn’t dodged, but still some damage.
“Vee,” Eevee winced as it was hit. One leaf luckily seemed to connect near its forepaw, causing it to favor its left side to avoid putting weight on it.
The Swift finally connected with Auster, causing it to drop a little in the air. Alec grit his teeth alongside his first Pokemon. For his first battle, he was absolutely thrilled, swimming in the tense and action-packed air around them. He could feel the energy being thrown around between the two small Pokemon.
“Go for Growl, then charge in with Peck,” Alec commanded as soon as he saw that Auster had recovered. He complied and let out a threatening-sounding warble that put Alec on edge. He could see the fear in Eevee’s eyes as it took a small step backward, clearly nervous.
Taking advantage of Eevee’s moment of hesitation, Auster tucked his wings in close and shot toward Eevee. His sharp beak, point glowing with Flying-type energy, struck Eevee, knocking it back.
“Snap out of it!” Rei called. “Go for Quick Attack and stop its momentum!” Eevee growled and bent its knees in concentration, before turning into a brown blur and zipping toward Auster. Before Alec could even open his mouth to react, Eevee fiercely rammed into Auster, sending him reeling.
“Auster, you alright?” Alec called. He’d taken two strong hits so far, the Swift and now the Quick Attack. He looked back to face Alec, a determined and fiery grin on his face. “Use Gust!” he called.
Unlike Leafage, Gust didn’t need any charge time as Auster was already familiar with using it. The Flying-type charged wind whooshed toward Eevee. Rei called for another Quick Attack in agile style to try to save the battle, but it was too late.
Eevee was blown far off balance by Auster’s attack. It tumbled back, landing on its forepaw that had been sliced by Leafage at the beginning of the match. It shakily climbed to its feet, gritting its teeth.
Rei raised its Pokeball and recalled it. “Good job, Eevee. I’m proud of you,” Rei said as it disappeared into its ball. He lowered his head and touched the ball to his forehead in a semblance of a hug, before returning to his ready stance and fixing his eyes on Alec.
Noticing Alec’s confusion, Rei said, “I know he can still fight, but I’d rather not fully exhaust him. This is just a friendly battle, there’s no sense in risking getting hurt.”
He grabbed his next Pokemon, the unknown one, and lobbed the ball toward Auster, who was starting to look tired.
“Go, Oshawott!” Rei called. “Show ‘em what you’re made of!”
Oshawott? Alec thought. He remembered the little otter Pokemon from his home, back in Unova. He’d seen a ton of rookie Trainers on TV with Oshawott as their first partner, alongside Snivy and Tepig. How did Rei get one?
“Use Soak!” Rei commanded, bringing Alec’s attention back to the fight. Alec hastily shouted a warning to Auster, but it was too late. Oshawott took a deep breath and spewed out a wide cone of water that lingered in the air like fog. It clung to Auster’s feathers, increasing his weight and making it harder to fly.
His mobility is down, Alec thought. I’ll have to plan around that.
“Auster, Gust! Dry yourself off!” He obliged, panting throughout. Alec squinted as he flung tons of small droplets of water off, but many still weighed down his feathers.
“Leer, then Water Gun!” Rei said calmly, and Oshawott sprang into action. It darted forward, brandishing its shell, and growled menacingly at Auster.
Auster’s almost done for. I’ve got to go for high damage, quickly! “Leafage, as quickly as possible!” Alec grit his teeth, feeling the edge of the battle.
Knowing Auster was weakened from Oshawott’s Leer, he knew that he’d have to go on the offensive to avoid letting Rei take advantage of Auster’s lowered defense. Even though Leafage wasn’t quick enough to use consistently, they’d have to do with a weakened and premature version.
“Row, let, row, let,” Auster panted as he drew his wings back in desperation. He launched a small spread of leaves toward Oshawott, who was charging Water Gun. Despite the type disadvantage, Alec knew that a fresh Water Gun could spell the end of Auster’s run.
The leaves sliced into Oshawott, but the otter nimbly deflected a few headed for its upper body with its shell. Overall, it got away with a few shallow cuts along its arms, legs, and torso. Its confident demeanor betrayed a wince, showing that it was in more pain than it let on.
“Unleash Water Gun!” Rei called, raising his fist. With a ferocious cry, Oshawott broke its internal levees and launched its high-pressure stream of water. It struck true, bringing Auster down. It impacted him right in the chest, knocking the breath from his lungs.
“Auster!” Alec panicked. He quickly raised his Pokeball and recalled him. “You deserve a treat,” he whispered to Auster’s energy inside the ball. “I’ll get you as many berries as you can eat once you’re healed.”
Maybe he imagined it, but the ball might have wobbled in his grip.
He took two calming breaths to reassure himself. He had the advantage, with Oshawott being struck by Leafage.
“Tricky, are you ready?” he asked, holding his ball in his open palm. “Let’s go for it!”
The ball sprang open by itself and Tricky materialized before Alec on the battlefield. He stretched for a second before settling into a ready stance with bent knees, ready for action.
“You’re quicker! Go for Spark!” Alec said. Tricky barked and squeezed his eyes shut. A second later, he glowed brightly and a bright yellow bolt of electricity shot from him toward Oshawott.
Rei shouted a warning and Oshawott tried to deflect it with its shell but the attack still struck, causing its muscles to sieze up. It tripped and rolled along the ground with a yelp. Trying to get up, yellow bolts of static electricity arced over its body, conducted further by its Water-typing.
Tricky threw back his head and cried out in victory. Alec, capitalizing on the advantage, quickly said, “Tricky! Bite! Finish this!”
“Shi!” He happily cried, running toward Oshawott’s prone form. Fierce Dark-type energy coalesced around its jaws as it ran. While it was still unable to get up, Tricky struck Oshawott, ending the battle.
“Oshawott! Are you okay?” Rei asked, an edge of panic in his voice. There was no reply. He raised his Pokeball and recalled the little otter, whispering words of encouragement to the ball.
It was over. The battle was won.
“Yes!” Alec cheered, running toward Tricky. He was also celebrating, hopping up and down after defeating his first Trainer. He leapt into his open arms and Alec spun around happily.
“You did excellent,” he said. Tricky yipped rapidly, adrenaline flowing.
Rei and Akari ran up to him. “That was a good battle,” he said to Rei. “Where’d you get an Oshawott?”
“Laventon,” Rei replied. “He gave it to me to study for the Pokedex. They’re not from around here. He got it delivered from somewhere overseas.”
“He gave me a Pokemon too!” Akari chimed in. “Though you’ll have to wait and see what it is.”
Alec smiled, reveling in the moment. Winning the battle gave him a sense of catharsis, that his progress thus far hadn’t been wasted. That he’d be alright here, no matter what.
“I’m not staying down so easy,” Rei said confidently. “Oshawott and I’ll go train, and we’ll beat you next time. We had you on the ropes toward the end, Tricky just got a lucky hit.”
“Yeah, keep telling yourself that it was a fluke,” Alec shot back with a grin. “We’ll take your challenge anytime. Akari, you too.”
“You got it!” she said excitedly. “Let’s go get your Pokemon checked out, then.”
They headed toward Joyce’s office for an examination and healing. Alec mentally braced himself for the earful that they were going to get from the medic for their reckless behavior.
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After they left the clinic, Alec checked his watch. 10:24. He still had nine or ten hours of daylight left to complete the day’s activities.
“Thanks for the food and for the battle, guys,” Alec said, fist-bumping them. “I’ve got to get my jobs done today, and I’m sure y’all do too.”
“Yeah, don’t remind me,” Rei groaned. “I’m debating whether to take the day off. I’m ahead of schedule on the Pokedex, so I could afford to take an off day.”
Akari knocked him on the shoulder. “C’mon, don’t make me go out alone. You can rest when you’re dead.”
“Well then death can’t come soon enough,” he deadpanned. “Let’s go.”
They turned and walked away, waving goodbye briefly as they left. Alec released Auster from his ball, letting him settle on his shoulder. He scratched under his chin, illicing a chirp of pleasure from him.
“You were excellent,” Alec praised. “Seriously, I mean it.”
Auster chirped, shuffling his talons. Alec began to scratch him under his chin, much to Auster’s pleasure.
“I don’t care that you went down. You still took down Eevee all alone.”
Auster leaned in, appreciating the praise and scratches. He let out a low warble.
“C’mon, let’s go,” Alec said, heading toward the village gate.
“Wait!” an unknown voice called. Alec turned around, spying a tall man with white hair and blue clothes approaching him.
“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” he said, offering his hand for a handshake. “My name’s Volo, with the traveling merchant guild, the finest in Hisui. And you are?”
“Alec,” he said smoothly.
“I couldn’t help but watch such an electrifying battle,” he said. “Good show! Your Rowlet and Shinx are clearly trained beyond compare. But, I can’t help but notice that they could be so much stronger. Luckily, I have just the equipment!”
His voice contained too much emotion. It clearly sounded forced, like this Volo was trying to appear artificially friendly. Obviously he doesn’t want to be friends, Alec thought. He just wants to make money off of me.
“What are you talking about? Auster did perfect.”
“Yes, but he could’ve been perfect-er. Look, check this out,” he said, taking his large backpack off and kneeling beside it. A few moments later, he pulled out a glass vial filled with a clear liquid, stoppered with a cork. The vial was small enough to fit cleanly in Volo’s palm. “This is one of my specialty items, bartered from a far away nation. It’s called Aux Evasion. Just one drop, and your Pokemon will be so energized, it’ll be nigh impossible to land a hit on them.”
Alec leaned in, inspecting the vial. Volo, sensing his interest, uncorked the stopper. “Want to smell it? So you know it’s not just water. Though, be wary, it’s very strong.”
Alec hesitantly took the vial and brought it up to his nose. Immediately, his eyes began to water as the scent of caffeine overtook his brain. It had the strength of vanilla extract, without any of the sweetness, instead being bitter to the core. He definitely couldn’t give it to Auster or Tricky as-is, he’d have to bake it into their rations. But he couldn’t deny that this would be a great help in their training.
He coughed, quickly recoiling. Auster leaned in curiously, so Alec held the vial up for him to smell too. Being a Pokemon, his nose was far more sensitive, but Auster seemed to enjoy the scent. He leaned in, trying to stick his beak into the vial.
Volo, not wanting his goods to get damaged, grabbed the vial, placed the stopper back on, and slipped it into the breast pocket of his jacket. “Auster clearly likes it. What do you say?”
“How much?”
“Well, normally it’d be much higher, but I’m willing to cut you a generous deal. Consider it a promise to return and keep being a great customer. $600.”
Alec’s eyes widened. Six hundred dollars? That was two - almost three - day’s wages!
“Uh, no thanks, I’m good,” he said hesitantly. Auster, still on his shoulder, shuffled nervously, sensing Alec’s apprehension for such a high price tag.
“Are you sure? It’s rather infrequent that I get my hands on one of these,” Volo said.
“I’m sure, thank you though.”
“I understand. You’re responsible with your money. An admirable trait. Though do remember to treat yourself every once and a while. Good day to you.” With that, Volo walked off.
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That night, after the day’s work was done, Alec rested around his campfire. He’d purchased a bedroll similar to Rei’s and Akari’s and he hadn’t regretted it. The soft fabric made the long and lonely nights far more bearable.
Tricky was already out cold, sleeping soundly near the fire. It’d been a long day, with the battle, their strange encounter with Volo, and their daily tasks. It was rare - unheard of - for one of them to be restless when night fell.
“Today was a good day,” Alec said to no one in particular. Above him, on a tree branch, Auster cracked one eye open and chirped.
“It’s a shame I couldn’t get you that vial,” Alec said. “I know he said they’re rare, but he’s a salesman. He was just trying to trick me into biting. Next time he’s got one and we’ve got the cash to spare, I’ll get it.”
When Auster didn’t respond, Alec looked up, seeing his partner asleep in the tree. The corner of his mouth cracked into a smile.
“I’ll be the best trainer to you guys, I promise.”
As he stood up to climb into his bedroll, he remembered something that he’d been doing for the past few nights. During his early days, he’d frequently find the latch on his satchel opened and its contents partially missing. It was always only one or two berries at most.
He’d taken up the habit of leaving two berries by the edge of the firelight for whoever was taking them. He knew that he wouldn’t miss the two berries, but they could be the difference between life and death for whoever was taking them.
Arceus did tell me to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves, he thought. Selecting two berries from the insides of his satchel, he tossed them underhanded off into the dark. From his position in the light, he could barely see them.
He stood up and climbed into his bedroll. Within minutes, he was fast asleep.
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“I’ll be the best trainer to you guys, I promise.”
From the far edges of the firelight, a bandit watched. The same bandit who had figured out how to open the satchel and had taken the food inside.
She’d been doing it for a while now. Those two, the boy and the girl, had been her targets for the past few months. They never even noticed their food to be missing, so clearly it was alright to take from them.
But this one was different. On a whim, she had decided to take from this new boy instead. The one in strange and unfamiliar clothing. He’d noticed immediately.
Strangely enough, the newcomer didn’t seem to care. Why? Her mother had told her that she had to be careful while stealing from people, because if they noticed that something was missing, they wouldn’t stop until they got it back. That’s why she has to be careful.
But instead of lashing out or attacking, he gave his food away. That was another lesson that her mother had taught her: Never give anything away for free. In the real world, others would kill on a whim. She had to be tough. Unyielding.
Why was this strange human so intriguing? Why did he contradict almost every teaching that her mother had told her?
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The next morning, when Alec awoke, he would smile. Both berries would be gone without a trace, just like the other nights. He hoped that whoever was taking them was doing well.
*